Show Me Your Lunchbox

A simple lunch box that was made in a hurry. Just a bagel(a kind of thick bread) with flavored cream cheese and some strawberries and grapes. A box of chocolate milk and some string cheese for a snack and lunch is ready. My son still prefers this to buying from the school and even helps me make it on a harried day.
The cream cheese varies in flavor as per our moods..sweet to spicy to sour.
The recipe for the flavored cream cheese ( walnut and raisin)is described here.

The fruit of the day is a addition to my tiffin posts to highlight one fruit that you may or may not be familiar with and should be there in your child's diet.


Fruit of the day:A kiwi cut up in a small container stays well and provides the daily requirement of Vitamin C. It is a sweetly sour fruit which is best eaten cold, scooped straight out of the shell. It has a unique green color which makes you think it is unripe but the sweetness comes as a surprise.

The kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) is a large, woody, deciduous vine native to the Yangtze Valley of China. Seeds from China were taken to New Zealand and planted in 1906. Plants developing from these seeds first fruited in 1910. Commercial planting began in New Zealand in about 1940 and by 1970 there were 900 acres. Commercial planting in California began in the late 1960s.

How to choose a Kiwi:
When selecting kiwifruits, hold them between your thumb and forefinger and gently apply pressure; those that have the sweetest taste will yield gently to pressure. Avoid those that are very soft, shriveled or have bruised or damp spots. Kiwis are usually available throughout most of the year.

Store unripe fruit at room temperature until the skin indents slightly when touched. It normally takes 3 to 5 days to ripen kiwis at room temperature. Ripe kiwis can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Place them in a plastic bag to help reduce moisture loss.


Recipes: 1. Cut up a ripe kiwi and sprinkle with sugar to tame the tartness.
2. Cut up some along with other fruits in a fruit salad with ice cream.
3. Try them in a spicy salad with salad greens, green apples, goat cheese, walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette.
4. Make a kiwi milk shake for a change. Just blend a 1 kiwi with half a scoop of vanilla ice cream, 1 cup milk and 2-3 tsp of sugar. It is a sweet shake chokeful of calcium and vitamin c.
I recently found a fruit and nut mix at the grocery store which had dried kiwis. They were an amazing blend of fruit candy. It is high in sugar as the drying concentrates the natural sugars but also concentrates the flavors which is endearing.
Do try a kiwi today if you haven't already.

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This Post was written by Shaheen from Malabar Spices..